Archive for June, 2011

A great tip for cooling off your inner critic. Here’s a tip from Men’s Health magazine for those of us who have hyperactive inner critics. Studies show you can slow negative self-talk by rapidly sweeping your eyes from side to side about twenty-five times. “It stimulates both sides of the brain and briefly disrupts your thinking patterns,” reports Matthew McKay, PhD, clinical director for Haight-Ashbury Psychological Services in San Francisco and author of Thoughts and Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Your Life.

Liar, liar, pants on fire! Eye contact, or lack of it, doesn’t expose a liar, says Michael Wheeler, a professor at Harvard Business School and an expert on negotiation tactics. A far more reliable measure is tone of voice. Most people sound tense when lying, and their voices take a slightly higher pitch. Finally, studies show that liars tell less compelling accounts with fewer gestures than truth tellers.

What employees expect from leaders. SCORE is an organization made up of 10,500 volunteer business mentors, both working and retired people who counsel small businesses owners. Here are five tips they’ve published on what employees expect from us as leaders.

One: Employees want to trust you and want you to trust them.

Two: Employees want good two-way communication. Begin by being a good listener.

Three: Employees want to be challenged. Set forth your vision and goals clearly and then let your workers exercise their creativity and authority in meeting your goals.

Four: Employees want accountability. Not only should you hold them accountable for their own performance, but you should measure your own performance as well.